The senses of taste and smell are essential determinants of food choice, which in turn may contribute to the development of chronic diseases, including diabetes. Although past studies have evaluated the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and senses disorders, this relationship remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated taste and smell perception in DM2 patients and healthy controls (HC). Moreover, we analyzed the association of chemosensory impairments with anthropometric and clinical outcomes (e.g. Body Mass Index (BMI), Fasting blood glucose (FBG), drugs, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and hypertension) in DM2 patients.
The study included 94 DM2 patients and 244 HC. Taste recognition for 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), quinine, citric acid, sucrose, and sodium chloride (NaCl) compounds was assessed using a filter paper method, while smell recognition of 12 odorants was performed using a Sniffin' sticks test. We found that a higher percentage of DM2 patients showed identification impairment in salt taste (22% vs. 5%, p-value&lt;0.0009) and smell recognition (55% vs. 27%, p-value=0.03) compared to HC. We also observed that 65% of hypertensive DM2 subjects presented smell identification impairment compared to 18% of non-hypertensive patients (p-value=0.019). Finally, patients with impairments in both taste and smell showed elevated FBG compared to patients without impairment (149.6 vs.124.3mg/dL, p-value=0.04).
The prevalence of taste and smell identification impairments was higher in DM2 patients compared to HC, and a possible relationship with glycemic levels emerged.
The prevalence of taste and smell identification impairments was higher in DM2 patients compared to HC, and a possible relationship with glycemic levels emerged.Healed plaque is a hallmark of previous regional plaque rupture or erosion. We hypothesized that the plasma level of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is related to healed culprit plaque in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.
A prospective cohort of 206 patients with STEMI, who were examined by optical coherence tomography (OCT) was enrolled in our study. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ide397-gsk-4362676.html After exclusion, 156 patients were categorized into healed plaque (n=54) and nonhealed plaque (n=102) groups. Plasma TMAO levels were detected by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in these two groups. Increased age and low BMI were more common in patients with healed plaques than in those without healed plaques. Through OCT observation, plaque rupture (81.5% vs. 45.1%, p&lt;0.001), thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) and macrophages (42.6% vs. 20.6%, p=0.004, 70.4% vs. 26.5%, p&lt;0.001, respectively) were more frequently seen in patients with healed plaques than in those without healed plaques. The TMAO level in patients with healed plaques was significantly higher than that in patients with nonhealed plaques (3.9μM [2.6-5.1] vs. 1.8μM [1.0-2.7], p&lt;0.001). Furthermore, the receiver operating characteristic curve showed that TMAO can be used as a potential biomarker to predict healed plaque presence with a cutoff value of 2.9μM (AUC=0.810, sensitivity 72.2%, specificity 81.4%).
Healed plaque in STEMI patients is associated with a high level of plaque vulnerability and inflammation. A high level of plasma TMAO can be a useful biomarker to differentiate STEMI patients with healed culprit plaques.
Healed plaque in STEMI patients is associated with a high level of plaque vulnerability and inflammation. A high level of plasma TMAO can be a useful biomarker to differentiate STEMI patients with healed culprit plaques.Some studies have reported that metabolic syndrome (MS) and a high inflammatory state are risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the combined effect of MS and a high inflammatory state on AF is still unknown. We aimed to investigate the association of MS and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels with the risk of AF in a large community-based population.
A total of 81,092 subjects from the Kailuan Study with electrocardiogram examination and hs-CRP data at baseline (1st examination, 2006-2007) were included in this study. The enrolled population was divided into 4 groups according to the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome and high hs-CRP (&gt;3mg/L). The follow-up examinations were performed every two years (2nd examination, 2008-2009; 3rd examination, 2010-2011; 4th examination, 2012-2013; 5th examination, 2014-2015). All participants were followed until the occurrence of AF or the date of the last examination. After a mean time of 7.2±2.0 years, a total of 271 individuals developed incident AF. MS or high hs-CRP alone was not associated with incident AF after multivariable adjustment. However, multiple Cox regression analysis showed that subjects with MS and hs-CRP &gt; 3mg/L had a greater risk for AF than those without MS and with hs-CRP ? 3mg/L (hazard ratio, 1.61; 95% confidence interval 1.08-2.41; P=0.019).
MS combined with a high hs-CRP level is associated with an increased risk for AF in the Chinese population. However, the mechanism is unknown and awaits further study. TRIAL REGISTRATION SITE http//www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx.
ChiCTR-TNRC-11001489.
ChiCTR-TNRC-11001489.The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic. There is currently a lack of knowledge about the antibody response elicited from SARS-CoV-2 infection. One major immunological question concerns antigenic differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. We address this question by analyzing plasma from patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV and from infected or immunized mice. Our results show that, although cross-reactivity in antibody binding to the spike protein is common, cross-neutralization of the live viruses may be rare, indicating the presence of a non-neutralizing antibody response to conserved epitopes in the spike. Whether such low or non-neutralizing antibody response leads to antibody-dependent disease enhancement needs to be addressed in the future. Overall, this study not only addresses a fundamental question regarding antigenicity differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV but also has implications for immunogen design and vaccine development.